Our Winter

Xu Minghao

Minghao sat there, still reading as his mind barely registered the story. Mindlessly, he turned to the next page, not reading a single word. His thoughts were full of the girl in front. Why was she staring? Why was she so pretty? Wait what. What was he thinking? Unable to focus on anything, he looked up, only to find her sneaking a peek again. Her name was Mei right? And she was his partner for the project? He watched as she joked and laughed with her friends, wondering if someday, he could be there instead. After what seemed an eternity, Mr Xu completed marking their tests.

"This class is quite disappointing. I'll return your tests but I think these three students deserve some appreciation. The highest mark was scored by Xu Minghao, with a 98 out of 100. Right behind him is with Wen Jia 97 and lastly Xiao Mei with a 90. Well done you three." He said. Hm, not bad. The girl in front- Mei, seemed smart.

Minghao walked out of the class and down to the cafeteria. Contrary to what it might seem like, Minghao adored his new friends. Even if he'd only been there two days, they'd made him feel comfortable and even bought him a nice tea on Monday. He was difficult to get to know but once you did know him, he was a gem of a friend. Minghao walked over to the counter and bought a meal. By the time he returned, he was surprised to see his friends already eating.

"When did you guys get here?"
"Way before you."
"How?"
"We used the other staircase." Replied Weiyi between bites of his cutlet.
"You guys know this place better than me. Not fair" he said, finally sitting down. He noticed the two boys staring at each other, as though secretly having a conversation in silence.

"Uh Minghao," Weiyi started. "We have someone new joining us today. Well actually he was here since 2 years ago but he's new to you." He said. At that moment, a tall boy sat down opposite him and set down his tray. He had his jumper on, and bleached streaks through his hair. The boy smiled at him, and Minghao awkwardly smiled back.

"Hi, I'm Wen Junhui." He said, lending out a hand.
"Xu Minghao" he said, shaking the hand.
"Junhui was sick the last two days so today's his first day here this year." Xiaoshu explained. "I think you'll know his little sister, Wen Jia, she was sitting in front of us in chemistry."

Minghao tried to recollect. "Oh you mean the girl who kept staring at me?" He said, earning a weird look from Junhui. "No no. That's Xiao Mei, your partner for the chemistry project. Jia was the girl sitting next to her." Weiyi replied instead of his friend. "A-ah I see." He said, not knowing why he was stuttering. He had to admit, though she creeped him out a bit with all that staring, Mei was very pretty. And smart too; she'd gotten a really good score in the test. Minghao smiled to himself, not realising it until a tease came from in front. "Who got you smiling like that?" Junhui asked, snickering to the other boys. Minghao felt his cheeks redden. "It's nothing, I just remembered a joke." He replied quickly. Xiaoshu laughed. "I don't think jokes make you blush like that Hao." He said, tipping all the boys into laughter.

Minghao couldn't help but smile at this silliness. He'd missed this. He grew up in Anshan, having moved for his father's work. They'd barely moved into the new house, so Minghao spent most of his time after school in his hotel. He zoned out for a bit, not having realised they'd taken the joke somewhere else. "I bet you!" Went Junhui. Snapping back to reality, Minghao realised he was asked a question. "Huh?"he asked out loud. "Do you think Mei is prettier or my sister?" Jun asked. "Mei" Minghao replied without hesitation. Although his eyes widened 0.5 seconds later when he realised what they were doing. "Your sister is nice though." He said sheepishly, though it was no use considering the boys were laughing so much Xiaoshu had to gasp for air. Minghao couldn't help himself and laughed too, not caring that everyone's eyes were probably on them - the group of hooligan boys who laughed insanely over nothing.

Time flew and soon enough, Minghao found himself calling his mom to ask for permission to go out with his friends after school. As he waited, he spotted Mei out of the corner of his eye. They'd shared multiple classes today, chemistry, biology and Chinese. Minghao thought she seemed like a nice girl, and his friends encouraged him to be friends with her, but he couldn't get himself to talk to her. Snapping back for the millionth time that day, he noticed his mom had declined the call. He looked in his phone to find a text from her:

Mama:
Hao, I'm busy right now, can't call. Is it important?

                                                                                                                  Minghao: 
                                                                              Not much, can I go out with my friends today?
Mama:
Okay, don't stay out too late and be safe.

Minghao closed his phone and showed his anticipating friends a quick thumbs up. Just as Minghao put his phone in his pocket, two girls walked up to Jun. One was his sister, Jia. There was also Mei.

"Ge, pleeeeease?"
"No Jia, you wasted all of yours"
"WEN JUNHUI GIVE ME IT I BOUGHT IT FOR YOU."
"YOU CANT USE MY NAME WEN JIA YOURE YOUNGER THAN ME."
The siblings bickered like their life depended on it. And although he could have stopped it, it was kind of entertaining.
"Calm down Jia. Junhui pleeeease. She's your sister and I'll buy you two tomorrow." A new voice spoke. Minghao whipped his head to the right to find Mei sweet talking his friend. And it worked because Jun reached into his pocket and handed Jia a lollipop. Minghao couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. Not long after, Mei joined in and the two of them laughed till their stomachs hurt, earning endearing smiles from the rest.

"Oh no" Weiyi said.
"Why?" Jun asked, worried.
"I FORGOT I NEED TO BABYSIT MY COUSINS" he said, throwing his head back.
"AND I FORGOT I NEED TO GO WITH HIM" Xiaoshu exclaimed.
"You're both idiots." Junhui decided, nodding his head in disappointment but waved bye to them as they left anyway.
"And since there are two extra spots open now, you girls wanna join? Oh are you okay with that Hao?" Jun asked, turning to his friend. Hao nodded, and Jun turned back for the girls' response. "I'm in, Mei?" Jia said. Mei put up an okay sign as the four set off, heading to the milk tea store nearby.

As they waited for their order, Minghao saw Jia pulling Jun's sleeve.
"Ge, you know you're the best big brother right? And you know you're so cool right?"
"Wen Jia I'm not paying"
"Pleeeeeease?"
"No."
"How can you say no to this adorable face?" She asked, making puppy eyes at him. Jun however, seemed indifferent. Minghao thought about it and realised this was a chance to be friends with Mei and Jia.

"I can pay for all of us."
"WAH REALLY! THANK YOU HAO!" Jia said, her face breaking into a smile.
"Jia where are your manners? Her brother scolded.
"Aye, it's fine dude, I don't mind." He said, Jun didn't argue after that and gave his friend a grateful nod.
"Minghao it's fine, I can pay for it." Mei said.
"No it's okay, really, consider it my treat. After all, this is the first time I'm going out with new friends." He said, smiling. Mei was still hesitant but nodded eventually.

The group got their drinks eventually and left. They walked out, chatting and laughing together.
"Guys let's go to that park. I heard they installed new swing sets." Jun said. Everyone nodded and began walking. Jia and Mei sat down on the swings immediately, giggling the whole time. Jun sat down at a bench nearby waiting for his sister to get off. Minghao sat down next to him, and watched the sky as the sun set. It was a beautiful blend of warm colours; orange, pink and blue painting the sky a picturesque view. He took a picture, and set down his empty tumbler.

"Pretty huh?" He heard, but it was a sweet voice, not Jun's. He tilted his head and looked at the girl sitting next to him. Mei sat there, not knowing what she just did. Her hair framed her face gently, as her long eyelashes and big eyes were looking up. Minghao could barely take his eyes off her. "Yeah." He replied. "It's beautiful."

A/N:

Ahhhh I can't believe I finished the second chapter already! I'm so sorry if the pov is confusing, I'm switching between Mei and Minghao to give you guys a view into both of their lives. I hope it's not confusing! Anyway, as usual, if you have feedback or comments, please write it down; I'm so grateful. I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for tuning in. Have a great day/night ❤️
- lucky charm 🐚